Music

I play the euphonium. Most people reading this probably have no clue what that is. If you do, congratulations! You are likely a former band nerd or an anime addict (there is a popular anime named Sound! Euphonium).

For the uninitiated, the euphonium is a brass instrument that plays in the same range as the trombone. It looks like a smaller tuba and has a warm, open sound that is often compared to the human voice. It is commonly seen in wind bands, marching bands, and brass bands, and on rare occasions, featured in the symphony orchestra.

I started playing the instrument in the 6th grade, abandoning my parents’ hope that I would fall in love with the guitar. If you know anything about band in Texas, you know that we take it very seriously. I was blessed to be part of one of the best middle school band programs in the nation, where I learned a lot about hard work and dedication. I went from not knowing how to play a note on the instrument to being able to play quite difficult music and practicing many hours a week. As a reward, I got to travel to South Padre Island, TX, and Disney World as part of middle school band trips, where we would beat the vast majority of high school programs in music competitions.

While most students from my middle school went to another powerhouse of a music program, I went to a much poorer school with a weaker program. I have to give major credit to my high school band directors: they made the absolute best that they could out of a bad scenario. Most students in band at my high school were economically disadvantaged, had low levels of musical talent coming in, and were completely unmotivated. Despite this, we would always put out a respectable marching program and always put out a varsity concert program that was well beyond what our program should’ve been able to do (Sparke’s Dance Movements, Maslanka’s Traveler, Pitts’ Auguries of Innocence, Nelson’s Aspen Jubilee to name a few). My high school band experience taught me the power of perseverance and the value of overcoming adversity: I can still succeed despite major barriers being placed in my way.

While I never achieved TMEA all-state, the crowning jewel of achievements, I always placed very well at region band auditions. I made the state solo and ensemble contest three out of four years, twice with both a solo and an ensemble. I also achieved a UIL state gold medal (the highest award given by the UIL) by being an outstanding performer at the state wind ensemble festival.

I knew that I would want to continue playing in college. I was lucky enough to go to a school where that was a feasible option. At Amherst College, I was immediately snatched up by the orchestra director despite not playing an orchestral instrument. I would play the Horn 2/4 part (and occasionally the Tuba part) on my euphonium for the 4 years I spent at Amherst. Some notable pieces we played are Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 and Festive Overture, Holst’s The Planets, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherezade.

At Amherst, I was also allowed to participate in the music program at UMass Amherst. I played in the Wind Ensemble and was part of the Tuba/Euphonium studio. I performed a lot of very difficult pieces while there (some of which include De Meij’s Lord of the Rings Symphony and UFO Concerto, Thomas’ Come Sunday, and Horne’s Stutter Step) despite essentially losing two whole years of instruction due to the pandemic.

My crowning achievement was performing the Cosma euphonium concerto with the Amherst College orchestra. It really felt as if all my musical work over the past decade had led up to that, and if it was the end of my musical career, I would be happy with that.

At UT, I participate in the Symphony Band, a non-varsity ensemble primarily made up of non-music major students and freshman music majors. The music is simple, not requiring a lot of practice time but still extremely fun.

I also am the head moderator of the r/Euphonium subreddit and discord, mentoring younger players of the instrument and compiling a ton of information/history about the instrument. The history nerd in me wants to document as much as I can about the instrument since there really isn’t that much out there other than Dave Werden’s work.

I will update this page with pictures in the future.